OPIUM DRUGS TROUBLE SUBURBS

Officials Want Task Force To Battle Heroin, OxyContin Abuse

Waukesha - In the latest sign that heroin and other dangerous
narcotics are infiltrating Milwaukee suburbs, Waukesha County is
considering action to confront a surge in such drug abuse.

"It's fair to say we have a serious problem," said Claudia Roska,
executive director of the Addiction Resource Council in Waukesha.

The treatment center reports that a growing number of clients are
indicating that their primary drug of choice is heroin or other
derivatives of opium, including the prescription painkiller OxyContin.

Roska said that category of dangerous and highly addictive narcotics
soon could rival alcohol, marijuana and cocaine among the most
popular substances for drug abusers locally.

"The trend is clear," she said.

Said Jim Aker, an addiction counselor for Waukesha Memorial Hospital:
"We've seen an explosion."

A similar outbreak in Ozaukee County has been linked to four deaths
since the fall of 2005, as well as state and federal charges against
more than a dozen people.

Waukesha County officials are urging formation of a special task
force to determine the best strategy for combating the issue.

Michael DeMares, clinical services manager for the county's Health
and Human Services Department, said he hopes for a coordinated effort
to stem what he sees as a disturbing jump in heroin and other narcotics abuse.

"The more we see of this, the more we are concerned," he said.

DeMares and other officials are scheduled to discuss the task force
idea today with the county's Health and Human Services Board.

The board's agenda refers to an "epidemic" of opium-related drug
abuse, although some officials believe that is an overstatement.

Harlow Bielefeldt, who leads an alcohol and other drug abuse advisory
panel for the county, said he does not want county residents to panic.

"I don't think they should be alarmed," he said. "I think they should
be concerned."

Heroin and similar drugs are all derivatives of opium or are
synthetic forms of opium, such as OxyContin, a painkiller that is
prescribed medically but also is fiercely addictive.

The Addiction Resource Council reports that heroin, OxyContin or
other opiates have constituted the primary drug of choice this year
for 61 clients, or about 10% of all clients. That is up from less
than 1% of all clients as recently as four years ago.

Similarly, the Waukesha Memorial Hospital treatment facility known as
Lawrence Center reports that such drug addictions have increased from
about 10% of its overall patient admissions to nearly 50% in the past 10 years.

Aker said county government should empower more of its own public
health staff to distribute pharmaceuticals used in the treatment of
heroin and other addictions.

Comparing the outbreak to the emergence of crack cocaine many years
ago, Aker said the most typical heroin or OxyContin addict is between
ages 18 and 25 and is admitted to the Lawrence Center treatment
programs after moving beyond casual drug use.

"They're rolling in here with a habit," he said.

Seized Drugs Adding Up

The Metro Drug Enforcement Unit in Waukesha has seized nearly 800
tablets of OxyContin the past three years, and this year has seized
more than 3 ounces of heroin, with a street value of about $10,000.

After hearing reports from narcotics agents and addiction counselors
in recent months, county officials who track local substance abuse
issues decided to recommend a task force on heroin and other opiates.

Bill Graham, a supervisor in the county health department, said the
study group might recommend contracting with an outside treatment
provider and establishing a program to make fighting the new surge in
narcotics a county priority.

Although he, too, questioned using the term epidemic, Graham said the
problem is serious enough to warrant seeking out new resources.

"How are we going to meet this challenge?" he said. "We really feel
we need to have a specialized program."